Caitlin Elizabeth Kroeger

Five years ago, I sailed to a 96-acre island dominated by hundreds of thousands of seabirds. The biodiversity was incredible and I was quickly captivated by these pelagic creatures that had come together in droves to breed on a hunk of rock off of California's coast. Since then, I have been involved in seabird research throughout the North Pacific and Bering Sea. The majority of these projects were collaborative studies of seabird foraging ecology and long-term population dynamics. My experiences culminated in my current pursuit of a PhD degree and my focus on threatened albatrosses of the Southern Ocean, where I hope to gain a better understanding of how these birds interact with their environment and their energetic requirements. A central question that I will address throughout my career is: How adaptable are seabirds (physiologically and behaviorally) in view of climate driven changes and human exploitation of resources? And secondarily: What species are more susceptible to change and in need of dedicated management efforts?

August 2013